“This is not a political programme,” said Morcha president Atmaram Parmar, though he admitted that a number of party workers will also get married at the programme.

Parmar said the objective is to raze social barriers besides lowering the expenditure people incur on marriages of their children.

“A lesson in austerity in these times of economic crisis is quite apt,” Parmar said. He said the total expenditure on the event would come to around Rs 15 lakh and it would be borne by contributions from community heads with a philanthropic bent of mind.

“The target was to bring together 155 aspiring couples, but the response was tremendous and the registrations had to be stopped at 161,” Parmar said.

According to him, each couple would be presented with gifts worth Rs 20, 000 besides wedding dresses. The eligible couples would also receive financial help from the state government under its welfare schemes, he said.

Named as Vaada Todo Samaj Jodo Abhiyaan (break barriers, bind society), the event is aimed at bringing about social reforms and help people come out of the tendency to spend lavishly just to show off, even if that meant borrowing heavily or selling family silver, Parmar said.

Denying that the event is election oriented, Parmar said that in the past, certain political parties had divided the Dalit community to serve their own vested interests. “But now, the BJP is trying to bring them all back together,” he added.